WO2002039706A2 - Method for controlling announcements and interactive responses in an exchange - Google Patents

Abstract

The provision of subscriber service features is one of the tasks of exchanges in classic TDM networks. This includes e.g., announcements and interactive responses. According to the prior art, these announcements and interactive responses are either provided by peripheral devices of the exchange which are equipped with the appropriate function or by external announcement and interactive response systems. The latter are provided either in TDM networks with proprietary interfaces or in packet networks with standardised interfaces. The invention solves the problem of providing the service for classic TDM networks by providing that the known packet-based method for controlling an external system for providing announcements and interactive responses is transferred to an exchange located in the classical TDM network. In particular, this enables the protocol used to control the external announcement and interactive response system, which was originally standardised as a signalling protocol for controlling a media gateway, to be used.

Description

description

Procedure for controlling announcements and dialogs in a switching center

The invention relates to a method according to the preamble of claim 1.

The provision of subscriber features or network features is one of the tasks of switching centers in classic TDM networks. This includes, for example, announcements and dialogues that are sent to the A and / or B subscriber in certain situations (e.g. 'No connection under this number', 'The number has changed, the new number is 722-25940' or dialogs for querying subscriber data for the use of IN services).

These announcements and dialogues can either be provided by peripheral devices of the exchange equipped with appropriate functionality, or by an external announcement and dialog system (hereinafter referred to as the 'IVR system' or 'Interactive Voice Response System').

Announcements and dialogues are necessary insofar as a large number of processes in the exchange are controlled in an operator-controlled manner. For example, switching events such as the selection of an unconnected number or calls with waiting systems announcements for the calling subscriber. In addition, services with dialogs such as e.g. Dialog support to control

Participant self-entries can be realized. Finally, there should be IN services controlled by the SCP with user dialogs, which are controlled via the interface between the SCP and the exchange with SSP functionality.

Common to all these cases is that the control logic for the announcement and dialogue function in the exchange

With such an integration solution, the announcement and dialogue system in question cannot be used as a central resource in the network.

In the second approach, the announcements and dialogues are provided by external systems. There are a number of solutions for controlling the announcements and dialogues in an external system (IVR) by the exchange. The proprietary application protocols (operations and parameters) are implemented on the basis of TDM signaling protocols (ISDN-PA or ISUP).

In contrast to the integration solution, the announcement and dialogue system in question can be used as a central resource in the network, but it is disadvantageous that the control interface cannot be used in the packet network.

Such an approach has already been proposed in German patent application DE 10047129.3. Here, however, this control is only implemented for packet networks. Classic TDM networks are not addressed there.

The invention has for its object to show a way how announcement and dialogue systems can be integrated into a TDM communication network with simple means.

An advantage of the invention is that the known packet-based method for controlling an external system for providing announcements and dialogs is transferred to a switching center arranged in the classic TDM network. The protocol used to control the external announcement and dialogue system, which was originally standardized as a signaling protocol for controlling a network gateway (media gateway), can thus be used. Out

From the point of view of the exchange, the external announcement and dialogue system IVR is thus represented as a gateway. The- This gateway is represented by the media gateway, which converts packet-based voice information into TDM voice information.

The peripheral device with virtual announcement and / or dialog ports described in the prior art mentioned can thus be reused. Likewise, a connection separate from the signaling path for transmitting the TDM user data stream between the switching center and the external announcement and dialogue system is advantageously implemented. In this respect, the external announcement and dialog system is considered as a combination of an external announcement and dialog system in the packet network with a direct packet-based interface for the announcements and end user input and a media gateway for converting the packet-based user data into a TDM data stream.

Advantageous developments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown in the figures.

Accordingly, the figure shows a switching center V, which is in operative connection with an external announcement and dialogue system IVR. On the one hand, the external announcement and dialogue system IVR consists of a hardware platform on which the functionality is executed. According to the invention, the functionality is modeled as a combination of two functional complexes.

The 1st functional complex consists of the external announcement and dialogue system F (IVR) in the packet network with an internal packet-based interface to a 2nd functional complex for the user data containing announcements and end user input.

In order to control the external announcement and dialogue system IVR by the exchange V, this comes to control the Media Gateways MG over IP signaling protocol MGCP used. The announcement / dialog functionality is controlled by introducing additional parameters in this protocol that describe the sequence of the announcement and dialog function. IVR parameters of this type are, in particular, the number or name of the announcement or dialog, the number of repetitions, the measures in the event of an error or if the end user does not enter them, and, if appropriate, individual parameters such as a changed telephone number. Examples of useful parameters can be found in the INAP, MGCP and H.248 standardization.

The second functional complex consists of the Media Gateway F (MG), which converts the packet-based interface for the user data of the external announcement and dialogue system IVR containing the announcements and end user inputs into a TDM data stream. This is transported bidirectionally between exchange V and media gateway MG via PCM trunks. The media gateway F (MG) is also used by the switching center V to control a media gateway via IP

MGCP signaling protocol controlled.

The combination of the two functional complexes F (IVR) and F (MG) on the hardware platform for the external announcement and dialog system IVR results in the following interfaces to the outside:

PCM trunks for the TDM user data stream, - packet-based signaling interface for controlling Media Gateway F (MG) and external announcement and dialogue system F (IVR).

The external announcement and dialog system IVR is controlled with the peripheral device described in German patent application DE 10047129.3 with virtual announcement and / or dialog ports. This peripheral device with virtual announcement and / or dialog ports converts the B-side assignments of its ports by the switching center to one Occupancy signaling of the media gateway assigned to the port with IVR functionality. The orders for playing announcements and dialogs are sent from this peripheral device towards media gateways with IVR functionality. Feedback from the external announcement and dialog system IVR, which indicates the end of the announcement or contains the input of the end user, is sent to the associated peripheral device with a virtual announcement and / or dialog port. All signaling between the peripheral device that manages the virtual announcement and dialog port and the assigned external IVR system takes place via the MGCP signaling protocol, which is used to access a media gateway.

In contrast to the arrangement of the external announcement and dialog system in the packet network, in which the external announcement and dialog system sends its user data stream outside the exchange into the packet network, two further interfaces must be served by the exchange in the method presented here the interface to the PCM trunks for TDM user data stream and the packet-based signaling interface for controlling the media gateway in the external announcement and dialog system IVR.

To control the media gateway in the external announcement and dialogue system IVR and to switch the PCM trunks through in the exchange, PE is used in addition to the peripheral device involved in the connection setup and clearing to terminate the A-side subscribers or trunks the peripheral device PE with virtual announcement and / or dialog ports another peripheral device looped into the connection. This looped-in peripheral device, referred to below as the inverse MG loop, contains outgoing and incoming ISUP ports.

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legend and dialogue system IVR. Furthermore, the assignment of the virtual announcement and / or dialog port and the transmission of the order signaling describing the desired IVR function to the associated peripheral device for processing the announcement and / or dialog port are initiated.

This makes it possible to reuse the services implemented in the classic switching center with IVR components, since they do not have to be changed because they find the peripheral equipment with IVR function known to them in the peripheral equipment mentioned. The fact that the IVR function is ultimately provided by an external system remains hidden from these software functions.

Claims

claims 1. A method for controlling announcements and dialogs in a TDM-based exchange that has peripheral devices (LTG), characterized in that the peripheral devices with virtual announcements and Dialog ports are provided that an external hardware platform is provided, on which at least one functional complex (F (IVR), F (MG)) is modeled, through which the external hardware platform receives announcement and dialog functionality that between the peripheral devices and the external hardware platform there is a packet-based control interface, via which the external hardware platform is controlled by at least one of the peripheral devices with virtual announcement and dialog ports, that an additional interface is looped into the connection setup, via which the TDM data stream carrying the announcements and dialogues is transmitted. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one functional complex is designed as an external announcement and dialogue system (F (IVR)) and / or as a gateway (F (MG)) between packet-based and TDM-based network. 3. The method according to claim 1, 2, characterized in that the packet-based control interface supports a standardized protocol (MGCP, H.248). 4. The method according to claim 1 to 3, characterized in that the further interface is designed as a PCM interface to the further peripheral device (inverse MG loop). 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the external hardware platform is controlled like a packet-based IVR system and a separate network transition between packet network and TDM network.